


Pictures of You

by heavnofhell



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 13:22:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9183487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavnofhell/pseuds/heavnofhell
Summary: Family is everything, even after they're gone.





	

It was quiet in the bunker, Dean and Castiel having left to experience all the joys of Christmas shopping, an ample 12 hours left before the holiday was upon them. Castiel’s expression of utter dread and resignation had actually drawn a quiet bout of laughter from the elder angel, though the confused looks he received from the humans had reminded him that they weren’t quite as attune to the subtle shifts in the seraph’s  **Grace** and demeanor as they might like to think.

The duo had left less than an hour ago, and not without a (suspiciously) cheerful goodbye from the overly amused archangel - something that had prompted Castiel to walk briskly from the room, lest he inadvertently undermine his elder with an irrepressible display of annoyance. The muffled sounds of the Impala’s engine had hardly faded into the distance, before Sam was moving back into the bedroom, followed a moment later by a curious Lucifer. 

Sam was rooting around in the closet for a moment, before emerging with two small bags in one hand, and a roll of brightly colored paper under his other arm. Lucifer watched him silently from the doorway, crossing his arms and leaning against the frame, his brows pinching together as he studied the strange behavior. 

The hunter crawled onto the bed, sitting cross-legged and carefully dumping the bags’ contents onto the soft blankets. There were small squares of glass and wood in one - photo frames, as Lucifer seemed to recall - and a handful of assorted photographs in the other. The archangel’s cool eyes were transfixed upon the various items, his lips pressed together and his eyes slightly narrowed, giving him the appearance of a someone presented with a particularly difficult mathematical equation. 

“Hey, Lucifer - you wanna help me?” Sam’s voice rose up through the quiet calm of the room, warm and inviting and  _everything_ the archangel would describe if asked the definition of the word “ _peace_.” Lucifer rocked himself up from the doorframe, dropping his arms to his sides and moving at once toward the bed. He came to a slow stop at the edge, glancing down at the small pile on the mattress, before turning to Sam expectantly. 

“Come here.” The man laughed quietly, patting the bed beside him and shifting slightly to free up more space. Sam’s grin widened further when Lucifer attempted to maneuver onto the open space following a hesitant nod, his movements slow and careful as he concentrated intently upon the objects scattered across the comforter, as though to jostle them about would result in complete catastrophe. 

“ _Comfy_?” Sam raised a brow as he looked on at the rigid archangel, Lucifer finally tearing his eyes away from the bed to meet the amused hazel gaze. 

“What are you doing?” He tilted his head to gesture toward the material again, glancing back up to Sam expectantly. 

“Every year, Dean and I give each other pretty lame gifts for Christmas - stuff that doesn’t require a lot of though, ya know? And that’s okay, because the only thing that matters is that we’re together, because we’re a family.” Lucifer nodded slowly in understanding, his inquisitive eyes locked on Sam, seemingly  _enraptured_ by his every word.

“But now that we’ve done this whole  _nesting_ thing, we have more time to put into our gifts, and I thought, since this is kinda the closest thing to a real home we’ve ever had, I wanted to make the most of it.” Sam reached down to the pile of photographs, picking them up and gathering them into a neat stack. He sifted through them for a moment, before pulling one from the bunch and extending it toward the archangel. 

“I found some of these old photos - some from one of Dad’s little storage units, some that Dean had stashed away - and I had them touched up a bit.” Lucifer reached up slowly, his hand hovering just below the picture, Sam giving it a little shake to encourage him to take it. With a feather light touch, the archangel took the delicate paper from the hunter’s hand, bringing it closer to his face as he scanned the image. 

“That’s and old one of me, Dad and Dean… I think Bobby gave me that one.” He leaned forward to sprawl a few more photos over the bed, Lucifer’s eyes following Sam’s movements with absolute fascination. 

“Here’s one of Bobby and Dad, and this one is a bunch of the hunters we used to keep close connections with.” There was a bittersweet tone to Sam’s voice, and Lucifer found himself looking back up, now far more interested in the sad smile on the face of his other half. 

“Sam - why do you keep these, if they upset you this way?” Sam raised his brows, the question catching him a bit by surprise, but only for a moment. Of course Lucifer would sense his melancholy, and of course an angel, with no concept of the sentimental attachment humans formed to inanimate objects, would consider it to be counter-intuitive behavior. 

“Because, Luce, this is our family. Yeah, I feel a little sad when I look back at these memories, because _I miss them_ … a lot. But it’s good that I feel sad, because that reminds me of how  _happy_ they made me - of how much I love them, even now.” Sam glanced down briefly, clearing his throat before reaching out to pick up another photograph - a shot of Castiel and Dean that Sam had taken. His brother had been slightly tipsy at the time, which had resulted in a rare, bright smile, while Castiel stood just to his side, looking as confused and somber as ever. 

“I wanted to make the bunker feel like a real home, with a real family who decorates their walls with happy memories. And maybe Dean will think it’s too much of a chick thing, but… I don’t know, I just thought it felt  _right_.” 

“So you’ll give these to your brother?” Sam looked up, searching Lucifer’s eyes for whatever judgement he was passing, but finding only genuine interest behind the cobalt stare. 

“That’s the plan, anyway. Just as soon as I get them all into frames.” Sam motioned toward the mattress again, looking back up to see Lucifer regarding him carefully, the hint of a smile pulling at his lips, his eyes warm with a sudden surge of deep affection for his other half. 

“May I help you with it?” His cool and soothing voice brought a smile back to the hunter’s own face, and he nodded almost shyly, looking back down to the stack in his hand. 

“Yeah… yeah, that’d be great, Luce. Thanks.” His smile brightened, and he leaned forward to press a small kiss to the archangel’s nose, earning him a beautifully brilliant smile in turn, Lucifer’s eyes lighting up in response to Sam’s own happiness. 

They spent nearly the entire afternoon sorting through pictures, Sam telling stories behind every one of them as they decided which to include as a part of the gift. Once everything was framed, they went to work wrapping them, Lucifer taking three or four tries before he managed to not tear the paper or end up with too little. 

The next morning, they celebrated in the dining room, a small tree propped up on the end of the table, Dean eating halfway through a plate of cookies before the coffee had even finished brewing. Despite his obvious shock over Sam’s gift, it was evident that Dean had greatly appreciated the gesture, and they discussed each photo at length, their hearty laughter filling the small room and bringing smiles to both of the angels’ faces. 

After the brothers had exchanged gifts, and Dean had polished off the cookies and coffee, the elder hunter insisted that they watch a Christmas movie (the Die Hard series  _coincidentally_ having been his gift to Sam), heading off to set up a projection screen in one of the larger rooms. 

Castiel had gone to attempt to make popcorn, while Sam and Lucifer returned to Sam’s bedroom to gather blankets and pillows - absolutely fundamental to movie watching, so far as the archangel was concerned. As they entered the room, however, Sam reached out to grip Lucifer’s hand in his own, tugging him to a stop and receiving a slightly alarmed look from the archangel. 

“Sam, what’s wrong?” He turned around to fully face the man, tilting his head as he stared into his eyes, looking for signs of distress. 

“You didn’t think I’d forget about you, right?” He smiled sweetly at Lucifer, reaching into the pocket of his sweatshirt and pulling out a little jewelry box, holding it up for the archangel to take. 

“Luce - you are as much a part of my family as anyone… you  _always_ have been, even before I knew it. _Of course_  I didn’t forget you.” He laughed quietly when Lucifer continued to stare at him, confusion evident on his face as he looked between Sam’s affectionate eyes, and the small box in his hand. With a knowing smile, the hunter lowered his hand, opening the box and pulling out a silver pocket watch. He laid it in his palm, popping it open and stepping closer to Lucifer, holding it up so the archangel could look at it. 

“I know you’ve been working hard to get better at reading clocks, and I thought this might offer some encouragement.” Just inside the cover of the watch, there was a small picture - one Jody had taken during Thanksgiving that year. In the image, both were sitting on her couch, Sam laughing enthusiastically over some joke or another, Lucifer by his side, watching the man with that same beautiful and honest smile the hunter had been rewarded with the evening before. 

“I have another one that I framed, and I’m going to put it up with the others. But I thought you might like to carry this one with you… a constant reminder of how much you are loved, Lucifer. I  _never_ want you to doubt that.” 

Lucifer’s eyes were wide with wonder, and he took the watch gingerly from Sam’s palm, holding it reverently in his hand as he continued to stare at it. 

“Sam…  _thank you_ , kiddo. Truly.” He looked up at the hunter, shaking his head with a tight smile, emotions warring clearly across his normally placid expression. “This is perfect.” He leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Sam’s lips, pulling back with a little shrug. 

“And I hope you don’t mind… but there was an extra frame…” Lucifer stepped away, moving to the bedside table and opening the drawer, pulling out one of the unused frames, and moving back to Sam’s side. 

“I found this picture in one of your old books, and I know how much she means to you, Sam. I know how you loved her.” 

Sam’s eyes grew a little wider, and he reached his hand out to take the frame, his lips parting in awe as he looked down at the photo of he and Jess, happy and young and innocent and  _so full of life_. Only when a drop hit the glass did Sam realize he had begun crying, and he brought a hand up to wipe away the wetness in his eyes. 

“Sam -” Lucifer’s low voice was laced with guilt, and Sam shook his head wordlessly as he fought down the tightness in his throat. “Sam, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep. I simply thought that -”

“Hush, Luce.” He looked up from the frame, a small smile on his face as he shook his head. “This is perfect. She’s  _beautiful_ … and so are you. I’ve been so blessed to have both of you in my life…” He moved forward, pausing to place the frame carefully on the beside table, before reaching up to wrap the archangel in a tight embrace, pulling him close and pressing his lips against Lucifer’s temple. 

“ _I love you_ , Lucifer. I love you for all the ways you love me - selflessly and without limits.” He sighed quietly, brushing his lips over Lucifer’s skin once more, before pulling back to look him in the eyes. “I don’t know how to thank you for this.” 

“You already have.” Lucifer’s smile was filled with unbridled love, and he gripped one of Sam’s hands, bringing it up to lay a tender kiss upon his knuckles. “You have given me a family, Sam, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted. There is nothing more I could ever ask for.” 


End file.
